The Kunoichis' Animals
by Lily-Finn178
Summary: NxT, SxI, NxH, SxS It's time for a trip to the zoo! But will this trip bring happiness or heartache to the kunoichis of Konoha? NaruHina chapter up! On Hiatus
1. Giant Panda: Neji x Tenten

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto. If I did, I would've added a _lot_ more romance between my fav characters. And I would have also

**Summary**: It's time for a trip to the zoo! But will this trip cause happiness or heartache for the kunoichis of Konoha? NejiTen ShikaIno NaruHina SasuSaku

**Started**: July 2, 2006 about 5:00

**Finished**: July 3, 2006 12:13

**Author's Note**: Everyone is 18 except for Tenten, Neji, and Lee, who are all 19. Also, there are small spoilers such as the fact that Neji is a jounin and Tenten and Lee are chuunins. This takes part sometime in Naruto ll, but I really don't feel like getting into depth with all that. Oh, and Sasuke isn't with Orochimaru anymore and everyone knows about the Kyuubi.

I'm sorry if anyone seems OOC in this story, but I must confess that this is my first Naruto story. Also, I haven't read all the manga or seen all of the anime (I tend to skip around from episode to episode) so don't get mad at me if I get something wrong or spell something incorrectly.

**Chap. 1 Summary**: Tenten has always liked giant pandas. She'd like to tell Neji about why she models her hair after a giant panda, but he doesn't seem to care, now does he? Or, at least, she _thinks_ he doesn't care…

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The Kunoichis' Animals

By Lily-Finn

Chapter 1

Giant Panda: Neji x Tenten

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"I haven't been to the zoo in ages! What about you, Neji?" the weapons mistress of Konoha, Tenten, asked the boy sitting next to her on the bus.

The boy merely glanced her way before resting his head on his propped up fist, letting out a sigh of pure boredom. Tenten ignored her teammate's obvious lack of interest, and she continued to stare out the window. Her chocolate colored eyes widened like a child's as they approached the zoo. She may have thought her sensei was crazy most times, but she'd definitely have to thank him for this 'field trip'.

_Flashback:_

_Tenten had just got to the training grounds for her team's weekly training session. Ever since Neji became a jounin and she and Rock Lee had become chuunins, they had little time to train with each other anymore. And although it was a bliss not to hear so much speeches about youth anymore, she kind of missed being around her sensei and teammates. She had, after all, grown attached to all three of them._

_She walked up to Neji, seeing as their sensei and Lee were swept up in a moment of 'Lee!' 'Gai-sensei!' 'Lee!' 'Gai-sensei!'. But before she had time to ask the genius what exactly the other two were doing, Gai announced loudly, "Tenten! Our lovely youthful flower is here at last!" _

_Tenten winced mentally, not liking being described by the terms 'lovely' and 'youthful' and 'flower'. She smiled weakly as her sensei gave her the good guy pose. Lee jumped over to her, also rewarding her with a much-unneeded pose similar to Gai's. "Tenten! Gai-sensei is taking us on a field trip of youth today!"_

_Warnings were flashing off in her head. Where would these youth obsessed freaks take her? A youth factory built by Gai-sensei to brainwash the minds of innocent children?_

_Hey, you never know. It could happen. Just look at Lee._

_"Yosh! We're going to the youthful zoo!" Another good guy pose. One of these days, Tenten was going to go blind from all those shiny teeth. She was already half deaf because of the 'ping' sound._

_But that didn't matter at the moment. She was going to the zoo. _

_Hey, it was a whole lot better than Gai-sensei's youth factory that brainwashed innocent children._

_End Flashback_

Now Tenten and Neji were sitting side by side on the rickety old bus Gai and Kakashi had rented to take them to the zoo. In front of them, Lee was cheering loudly. In turned out, they weren't the only team along for the ride. In fact, Gai, Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai had all planned this out for their old genins.

The four senseis had all agreed that their former students needed a break from C- and B- missions. So they got together about a week before and decided to take their former students to the zoo. Kurenai and Asuma had put their money together so they could pay for all twelve ninjas, and Gai had rented the rickety old bus before Kakashi could.

And it was Kakashi who explained to them that they weren't going with them.

_Flashback_

"_Kakashi-sensei! You're twenty-five minutes late!" Naruto screamed at the silver-haired shinobi upon his arrival. _

_Kakashi laughed softly and tried to explain, "Oh, look, the bus is getting ready to leave. You had all better get on." He ushered the twelve shinobi onto the old bus and waved to them from the windows._

_"Wait! Kakashi-sensei, aren't you getting on, too?" Sakura yelled at him, sticking her head out the window._

_Still waving, Kakashi produced four tickets from thin air. "I'd love to come along, but I just got these tickets for that new restaurant everyone's been talking about. It's to celebrate Asuma's and Kurenai's engagement."_

_Before the twelve could jump off the bus, it started rolling in the direction of the zoo. Kakashi chuckled at the sight of the shinobi trying to kill the bus driver so they could get out._

_End Flashback_

And there they were, stuck on a two hour long bus ride to some godforsaken zoo. Tenten had fallen asleep almost as soon as she sat on her seat, seeing as Neji wasn't willing to start a conversation. But her nap only lasted the first half-hour, seeing as a fight between Kiba and Naruto had started. And not long after that, another fight between Ino and Sakura erupted when Ino had proclaimed for the nth time that Sasuke belonged to her and only her. That was followed shortly by annoying exclamations that made Tenten want to rip out all of her hair.

But she guess it had all been worth it, especially when she caught a glimpse of the zoo. This would be her second ever visit, and she couldn't wait to share this experience with all of her friends, despite how demented they were.

* * *

They all clambered off the bus excitedly. Even if it was a place as childish as a zoo, it was still a vacation, nonetheless.

Tenten shielded her eyes from the sun as she peered up at the entrance to the zoo. She gave a small laugh and turned to Neji, tugging on his arm. The Hyuuga stared at her silently, those milky orbs seeming to see right through her. Tenten felt a shiver crawl up and down her spine at the intense gaze, and she let go of his arm quickly. She hadn't yet quite gotten used to the odd things she felt when she was around him.

"What do you want to do first, Neji?" she asked with a bright smile.

He blinked, unsure. Tenten almost burst out in a fit of giggles. It was as though no one ever asked for his insight before. He carefully looked at the big map by the entrance to the zoo. He stared at it for what seemed like forever. Finally, he turned to Tenten and said, "What do you want to do?"

Tenten grabbed his arm, laughing out loud. It figured. Neji had never been to a zoo before. He didn't know what was what or what to expect. He needed someone to guide him to all the right places. And if memory served her right, she knew just the place she wanted to take him to.

After grabbing a map of the zoo and leaving the others behind arguing at the entrance about what they wanted to do first, Tenten led Neji by the arm to her favorite spot. Along the way, she explained, "This is actually my second time here. The first time I was here, I was only six and my mother took me while my father was on a mission."

Neji listened, his face not showing any hints as to what he was feeling. After about fifteen minutes of walking and Tenten pointing to an exhibit that she remembered from her first visit to the zoo, they arrived to what seemed to be several outdoor enclosures with big hunks of fur in them. But the more Neji looked closely, he could tell that the hunks of fur were real live animals.

Tenten led him farther, past the enclosures. They passed grizzly bears, sun bears, Kodiak bears, and even polar bears. Neji's pearl-colored eyes widened about a millimeter when he saw the white bear swimming around in its little pond. How could a bear from the arctic live in such a different climate? He'd have to ask Tenten sometime before the day ended.

Tenten let go of Neji's arm just as they reached the last bear enclosure. She ran to the little wooden pole with information about the bear they were looking at and read it aloud, "Giant Panda, common name for a bear found in provinces of western China. The giant panda resembles other bears in general appearance, with the exception of the black patches over its eyes, ears, and legs and the black band across its shoulders. Giant pandas live in bamboo forests at high elevations and feed primarily on bamboo. Unlike other bears, they vocalize by bleating rather than roaring. The giant panda's so-called sixth front toe is not a digit or claw but an enlarged wrist bone that functions as a thumb in grasping food. The total number of giant pandas in the wild is now about 1500. Because giant pandas are restricted to a small area of western China, their status may be the most precarious of all the species of bears. World interest and research funds from many nations have improved the giant panda's status, but the species remains vulnerable to humans. Well, that's sort of interesting, now isn't it, Neji?" Tenten looked up at Neji. "Neji?"

Neji stared for a second at the bear, taking in its dark beady eyes surrounded by black fur, its black nose and ears, its black shoulders and arm and legs, and its white head and body. The Hyuuga stared a moment longer at the giant panda's ears before looking at Tenten. He squinted at her, then went back to look at the panda. Tenten chuckled and asked, "Do you think I look like a panda?"

He hesitated before giving his answer. "Yes."

He was grateful that his answer did not offend her. Truth be told, he was sort of afraid that if he said the wrong answer, she'd get mad and leave him alone, right by the giant panda enclosure, so that no one would find him and he'd be lost forever in the zoo.

Tenten looked up at the animal in the enclosure, eating its bamboo without a care in the world. "My mom said I looked like a panda, too."

Neji's face didn't give anything away, but he was slightly intrigued. Tenten rarely offered her family story, and even though he had known her for several years, he still didn't know anything about the family of the weapons mistress.

"Like I said before, my father was on a mission when my mother brought me here. That day, she put my hair up into buns, like these." The weapons mistress pointed to her never changing hairstyle.

Neji nodded, telling her in his silent language to go on. "Anyway, when she took me to see the giant pandas, she told me that I was just as cute as a panda because my buns looked like panda ears. Don't you think?" Tenten giggled, knowing she wouldn't get an answer from him. "And since I was such a foolish little girl at the time, I told her that I'd wear my hair in buns everyday just to look cute for her. Wasn't I so sweet?" Neji didn't answer that time either. But that was okay. It wasn't like she was expecting him to. Or like she wanted him to.

She'd only been in love with him ever since they were genins. She'd only wished she had enough courage to tell him how she felt. She'd only wished that he felt for her the same feelings she felt for him.

But that wasn't possible. Because Neji was a Hyuuga, unfeeling and uncaring. Well, he had been when they had first met, but after his fight with Naruto in the chuunin exam, he'd pretty much given up some of his cold exterior.

"So I've been wearing my hair in buns ever since that day. Well, except for the occasional day when I want to wear braids, but that's a different story." Tenten was now standing on the gate separating the panda's enclosure from the outside world, leaning against the railing with her eyes staring blankly ahead. "Turns out, the mission my father was on that day was his last. He was killed on that mission, and Mom and I learned about it only two days after we went here. After that, Mom raised me until she got killed on another mission. Luckily, by then I was old enough to care for myself. Otherwise, I'd be up a creek without a paddle, seeing as I had no other family to turn to." Tenten gave a soft laugh, still not looking at the Hyuuga. She could feel his beautiful eyes watching her, examining her, trying to decipher what she was feeling.

Neji let out a small breath. He, too, had lost his father, and he never knew his mother.

Tenten put on a happy face, finally turning to him at last. "Well, now that we're done here, let's go explore the rest of the zoo. Maybe we'll find the rest of the group. Do you think they're wondering where we are? I know! Let's go look at the polar bears. I always thought they looked cute."

Tenten reached for his arm again, this time to pull him away from the giant panda exhibit. But Neji wouldn't move a muscle, refusing to leave that moment. The weapons mistress looked back at him, seeing that he was staring at the giant panda eating bamboo. She waved her hand in front of his face. "Come on, Neji. Let's go look at the polar bears."

"Your mother was right." Tenten froze. She was starting to regret all that she'd told him. It wasn't like he cared about her life story, right? He was, after all, only a teammate, a friend, nothing else. She had drilled that into her head for several years, telling herself that he'd give up respecting her if he knew of her feelings for him.

Neji turned his head to look her in the eyes. Chocolate clashed with milky white. Tenten wanted to look away, afraid that he could see the grief for her dead family and her love for him in her eyes.

She hadn't realized that he had grabbed the hand she had been recklessly waving in his face. She shivered at his warm touch and subconsciously noticed how nice it felt to have her hand in his. With his other hand, he brushed a lock of brown hair out of her eyes. She was frozen in place, wishing that the moment would end already. She was sure by now he could see her longing for him, and she didn't want to be rejected, not by him. She felt heat rushing up to her cheeks, and she tried to force the blush down. But she didn't succeed. It didn't matter, though. Neji had already seen it.

"The panda is cute." She was stunned by his words. Had the _Hyuuga Neji_ just said the word cute? Tenten hadn't thought that word was in his vocabulary.

"The panda is very cute," he repeated, the tone of his voice a softer whisper. He leaned his head forward until their foreheads were touching and their lips were just millimeters away from each other. He stared deeply into her eyes, and she saw a flash of something she had never seen before. A small, caring smile adorned his face as he whispered the next three words that took her breath away. "Just like you."

She closed the gap between them, surprising the Hyuuga. Their first kiss was slow and steady, but filled with emotion. Neji was the one who deepened it, sending shocks through both their bodies. Both wondered how they had managed to last as long as they did without feeling as wonderful as they did that moment.

When they finally parted, both were speechless. Their first kiss had been the most amazing thing they had ever experienced. And nothing could ruin it.

"Ew, Mommy! Those two were kissing!" a little boy screeched behind them. Neji's head whipped around as he glared at the boy. Tenten laughed loudly as the boy held onto his mother's skirt, pointing at Neji as though he were the devil himself, "Mommy! That man is scaring me!"

The mother scowled at her child, grabbing his hand as she walked away, but not without one last accusatory look at Neji.

When Neji turned to face Tenten again, she was holding her gut as she laughed uncontrollably. He tried glaring at her, too, but he couldn't hold in the smile that graced his features.

"You're smiling." Tenten stated suddenly, she grabbed Neji's hand and squeezed it lightly. He was taken aback by the caring, loving smile she was giving him. He felt his insides warm at the sight of her, and he couldn't help but pull her into a tight embrace. Tenten immediately sank into his embrace as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Whenever you feel like talking about your mother or father again, you can always cry on my shoulder." He whispered in her ear. Tenten nodded against his chest, tightening her hold around his neck. She looked up at him and kissed him tenderly. It seemed like the only natural thing to do.

Neji returned the kiss and when they parted, Tenten told him, "I love you."

"Hn."

"That had better mean 'I love you, too, Tenten' or else I'm going to kill you when we train tomorrow."

"I love you, too, Tenten."

Tenten smiled as she glanced over at the giant panda. She silently thanked the panda. Because if not for the panda, and the memory of her first time at the zoo, she would've never have told Neji about her parents, and she would've never have told him how she felt. And she would've never have been standing in Neji's embrace at that moment if it weren't for that panda.

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Ok? What are your opinions? I personally think it was very cute for my first Neji/Tenten. Wow, this was only 6 pages & it took me 8 hours just to write it...I'm a fast typer, but a slow thinker.

Be nice! REVIEW!

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**Summary for Chap. 2**:

Two-toed Sloth: Shikamaru x Ino

Ino never liked the zoo, and she especially doesn't like it after she and Shikamaru are separated from the rest of the group. But now that she's thinking about it, he has his perks, and he does kind of resemble that somewhat cute sloth…


	2. Twotoed Sloth: Shikamaru x Ino

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto. Never have and never will. 

**Summary**: It's time for a trip to the zoo! But will this trip cause happiness or heartache for the kunoichis of Konoha? NejiTen ShikaIno NaruHina SasuSaku

**Started**: July 3, 2006 12:46 p.m.

**Finished**: July 3, 2006 3:23 p.m.

**Author's Note**: Everyone is 18 except for Tenten, Neji, and Lee, who are all 19. Also, there are small spoilers such as the fact that Tenten, Lee, Shikamaruand Ino are chuunins, and Neji is a jounin. This takes place sometime during Naruto ll, but I don't feel like really getting into depth with all that. Sasuke isn't with Orochimaru anymore and everyone knows about the Kyuubi.

I'm sorry if people are OOC, but this is my first Naruto fic (and my first ShikaIno!). I haven't read every single manga or watched every anime episode (I skip around from episode to episode) so don't get mad if I get something wrong or spell some ninja term incorrectly.

**Chap. 2 Summary**: Ino never liked the zoo, and she especially doesn't like it after she and Shikamaru are separated from the rest of the group. But now that she's thinking about it, he has his perks, and he does kind of resemble that somewhat cute sloth…

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The Kunoichis' Animals

By Lily-Finn

Chapter 2:

Two-toed Sloth: Shikamaru x Ino

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"This stinks!" Yamanaka Ino growled through gritted teeth as she stomped angrily past the monkeys.

"Actually, I think that was the gorilla." Her companion, Nara Shikamaru commented casually, pointing at the gigantic ape to their left.

Ino turned around, glaring kunais at her old teammate. Shikamaru inwardly groaned and muttered under his breath, "How troublesome."

"I'll give you troublesome, you moron!" Ino shook her fist at him, her anger radiating in a spectacular radius of five feet around her. Little children passing the two clung to their parents or older brothers and sisters, tears welling up in their eyes in fear. Animals, big or small, cowered behind rocks and trees or whatever was available in their enclosures. Ino was a very intimidating woman.

The chuunin stared at her before turning his head up to look up at the ceiling of the building they were in. He was used to her intimidating threats and frightening looks. They had, after all, known each other since they were infants.

"We just _had _to get separated from the group! I bet Sakura hanging all over Sasuke-kun right this minute." Ino didn't notice the slight frown that appeared on Shikamaru's face when she mentioned the Uchiha's name. She thrust her pointer finger into his chest and shouted, "This is all your fault, Shikamaru!"

Although she had declared it his fault, she knew it was hers. If she hadn't gone to the bathroom after the group visited the sea lion exhibit, they wouldn't be separated from everyone else. After seeing all that water at the exhibit, she just had to go and rushed without a word to the nearest restroom. Shikamaru had been the only one to notice she left the group and carelessly followed her. He had been waiting for her when she got out of the restroom, and she was thankful. That is, until she found out that while they were gone, the rest of the group had moved onward to whatever exhibit they wanted to go to next.

The two had searched for their lost group, but to no avail. Besides, they had gotten lost in the maze of the monkey and ape exhibit.

They somehow managed to find a way out of the building in the next five minutes. Ino blinked when her eyes made contact with the outside light. It had been so dark in the exhibit. She stole a glance at Shikamaru and saw that he was staring off in the distance, like always.

She would never figure him out, and they had known each other almost since birth. In fact, they were born in the same hospital, in the same room, only a day apart. And yet, he was still more a mystery to her than Sasuke. All he did everyday was lounge around the village, staring up at the sky. Usually he watched the clouds in his favorite cloud watching place, with his back to the ground, his arms under his head, and his face turned upwards to the sky. She had tried it several times, but every time she just couldn't see how he could stand to lay around and do nothing but stare at things in the sky. He puzzled her. And that only intrigued her more.

Not that she'd admit anything like that. She had a reputation to keep. Someone as beautiful and cool as herself couldn't be bothered with the likes of Nara Shikamaru. She needed someone more like Sasuke-kun.

"What do you want to do now?" She was startled out of her thoughts by Shikamaru's question. She blinked twice, looking at him. What did she want to do now? She wanted to get the hell out of the zoo, that's what! She couldn't stand another second in the awful place.

"I guess we can just walk around until we find the group again," she answered grumpily. Because even though she wanted to get out of the zoo, there was no way she could find her way out of it. Unlike Tenten, who was smart enough to grab a map before she took Neji to god knows where, Ino hadn't. She was too busy sulking to grab a map. And Shikamaru hadn't planned on getting lost, so he hadn't grabbed one either.

They passed several animals, not bothering to look at any. She didn't care how cute or cuddly the animal was, she wanted to ignore the fact that she was in a zoo in the first place. Although, with all those horrible smells, it was sort of hard for her to ignore that she was in the zoo.

"Ino." She was stopped from her angry brooding by Shikamaru's voice. His voice always cut through her thoughts, like a very sharp and pointy shuriken. "It's noon. What are we going to eat for lunch?"

If only it had been Choji she was lost with. Choji always brought along a bag or three of chips. She wouldn't have to think about buying the overpriced food from the zoo if Choji were with her. And Choji wouldn't bother her by penetrating her thoughts all the time.

"Well, since the trip was such a short notice, I didn't bring any money with me. And I didn't bring any food either." Ino explained, giving up her anger for one minute. Now that she was thinking about it, she was kind of hungry.

Shikamaru said something under his breath, and Ino could've sworn he said troublesome again. The guy was in love with the word.

He reached into his pocket and brought out several ten dollar bills (A/N: I don't know anything about yen or whatever type of money they use, so I'm using the American system of money for this fic). Luckily, they had arrived at the heart of the zoo, where all the vending machines and restaurants and fast food places were. Shikamaru gestured to the food supplying places around them and asked, "What do you want?"

Ino almost hugged him. Almost being the key word. There was no way that she'd ever show public displays of affection for him. Or any displays of affection for that matter.

After they got their lunch, Ino insisted they sit down on a bench outside the sloth enclosure. Shikamaru barely touched his lunch and instead chose to look up at the clouds in the sky. Ino stole yet another glance at him. She wondered if it hurt him to crane his neck back like that. She knew that she preferred lying down whenever she looked at the clouds with him.

"Why don't you lie down?" she blurted out the question, startling both of them.

Shikamaru looked at her with his ever-bored expression. "There's no room on the bench."

"Sure there is." Ino went on, trying to stop the blush rising to her cheeks. "You can put your head on my lap." She noticed a spark of something in his eyes, but chose to ignore it. Astonishing her, he obliged to her suggestion and lay down, resting his head on her lap. Ino had never done this with anyone before, and she thought it should've felt foreign to her. But it didn't. It seemed okay.

They were silent for the next few minutes. Ino had finished her lunch and was now trying to take her attention off of Shikamaru by staring at the sloth in the enclosure. It was eating some kind of plant, its movements very slow. She almost yawned at the boring animal, but then she heard another zoo visitor reading off information about the sloth that seemed vaguely familiar.

"Sloths are native to Central and South American rain forests. They use their long limbs and curved claws to hang and move along tree branches in a slow, deliberate manner, feeding on foliage pulled just as slowly to their mouths. The animals spend virtually their entire lives suspended with their backs to the ground." the man reading off information explained. He turned to his children and said, "All in all, the two-toed sloth is a very lazy creature."

Ino's eyebrows perked up. That…that sounded just like Shikamaru! He was possibly the laziest creature she had ever met. And, he did sort of spend most of his days with his back to the ground and his head to the sky.

The kunoichi looked closer at the sloth. It was still eating the plant, but its head was turned her way. Dark, pebble-like eyes set in a face of white, circular face stared at her with what looked like curiosity. Its tiny black nose sniffed the air as it clung to its branch with its curved claws. And although it was one of the most hideous creatures Ino had ever seen, she found herself mentally cooing at it. She couldn't help it. The animal was just like Shikamaru, and the several strands of hair that stood on end on both sides of its face looked just like the ponytail that stood on Shikamaru's head.

She gave a small giggle which made Shikamaru tear his gaze away from the clouds to look her in the face. "Why are you laughing for no reason?" _Troublesome woman_…

Ino pointed at the sloth and said, "It looks like you! It even acts like you."

Shikamaru turned his head and stared at the sloth. He sat up abruptly and told her, "You really don't have to insult me, Ino."

Ino's happy expression dropped. "Wha…what do you mean?"

He still wasn't looking at her. "A sloth is a lazy creature, I know that. And it's also not the best-looking one."

Before Ino could correct him and say that he wasn't insulting, she was instead complimenting him, Shikamaru went on, "I know I'm not as good-looking as Sasuke-_kun_." He spat out the suffix with evident hate. "I'm probably not even as good-looking as Uzumaki. But that doesn't mean that I'm not human. I have my perks. A person can only take so much of your troublesome insults, Ino."

He stood up to throw away the remains of his lunch before walking away from the bench. Ino was dumbfounded and extremely sad. She got up and threw away the rest of her lunch and followed Shikamaru. She walked several feet behind him, her eyes downcast.

_Now he hates me_, Ino thought grimly. She felt like breaking out into tears. Shikamaru had never once complained about her insulting him, if it could even be called that. She had thought she was teasing him in a sarcastic, friendly manner. Obviously he saw it as something much, much different.

_Wait a minute! What am I talking about? He jumped to conclusion so this is all his fault. I should tell him he was all wrong!_ Now, with sudden confidence, Ino stomped up to Shikamaru and grabbed his shoulder, turning him around as she did so. When she looked up into his eyes, she saw how hurt he was under his expression of boredom. It struck something in her heart.

"You're wrong." She stated. He blinked. Ino knew he was confused. Shikamaru had an IQ over 200, so there was no possible way that he was wrong about anything. "I wasn't insulting you."

"How so?" he asked quietly.

"For your information, I know your perks." Shikamaru blinked as Ino counted off her fingers. "I know you're the smartest person I know, and that you're not lazy when it's important. You care deeply for your friends and family, and you'd never forgive yourself if something happened to them that you could've prevented. And I know that while you're not exceptionally good-looking as Sasuke," she hesitated, but gained her confidence once more. "you're just as handsome in my eyes."

Before she let Shikamaru say anything, she explained, "All right, I know I said you're like the sloth because you're extremely lazy, but you've got to know that I meant that in a good way. Your laziness is just one of the many things I love about you, Shika-kun."

She looked at the ground, unsure. She was surprised when she felt his finger slip under her chin, forcing her to look at him again. She gave him a small smile and he smiled back before leaning in to peck her lightly on the lips. She linked her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss as she pulled their bodies closer together. This was what she wanted. He was what she wanted. And she'd never give him up for anything else, even Uchiha Sasuke.

Sakura could have Sasuke because now she had Shikamaru. And he was good enough for her.

When they parted, she leaned her forehead against his and looked up into his eyes, where the spark she saw earlier was present, only brighter this time because they were together. She giggled and whispered for only him to hear, "You know what else, Shika-kun?"

"What?"

"I thought that sloth was really cute." She kissed his lips again.

He kissed her back and told her, "You're such a troublesome woman."

And that was good enough for her.

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I must say, WOW! This has only been up for less than a day, and it already has over 100 hits. I feel special! It only took me 4 hours to type up these 5 pages! I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I don't think it was as good as the first, but it's still good for my first ShikaIno.

Thanks for all the reviews! You people make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside whenever I get a new review!

Oh, and by the way, there are only about 2 more chappies to go. I only planned this as a 4 part story. I might add one more chapter, but that's only if I get the right inspiration. So...REVIEW PLEASE!

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**Summary for Chap. 3**: Fennec Fox: Naruto x Hinata

Hinata just recently found out about the Kyuubi inside Naruto. She doesn't know how to tell Naruto that she's okay with the demon. Upon seeing the tiny fox at the zoo, she suddenly gets an idea…


	3. Fennec Fox: Naruto x Hinata

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto. If I did, Temari and Sai would die and leave Shikamaru to live happily ever after with Ino.

**Summary: **It's time for a trip to the zoo! But will this trip cause happiness or heartache for the kunoichis of Konoha?

**Author's Notes:** Everyone is 18 except for Tenten, Neji, and Lee, who are all 19. Also, there are small spoilers such as the fact that Tenten, Lee, Shikamaru and Ino are chuunins, and Neji is a jounin. This takes place sometime during Naruto ll, but I don't feel like really getting into depth with all that. Sasuke isn't with Orochimaru anymore and everyone knows about the Kyuubi.

I'm sorry if people are OOC. I haven't read every single manga or watched every anime episode (I skip around from episode to episode) so don't get mad if I get something wrong or spell some ninja term incorrectly.

**Chap. 3 Summary: **Hinata just recently found out about the Kyuubi inside Naruto. She doesn't know how to tell Naruto that she's okay with the demon. Upon seeing the tiny fox at the zoo, she suddenly gets an idea…

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The Kunoichis' Animals

By Lily-Finn

Chapter 3:

Fennec Fox: Naruto x Hinata

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"Hinata! Hinata!" A hyperactive blonde boy called out to the Hyuuga heiress. Hyuuga Hinata blushed a deep crimson as Uzumaki Naruto ran over to her, his cheeks flushed from his run from the other side of the building. "Hinata, you'll never guess what I saw!" 

"W-what was it, Naruto-kun?" the girl asked quickly, seeing that Naruto was about to burst at the seams with his news.

His eager expression brightened immensely as he exclaimed, "It was a raccoon dog! And not just any raccoon dog. It had dark rings around its eyes, making it look like Gaara! A raccoon looks likes Gaara! You have to see it, Hinata!"

Giggling, Hinata opened her mouth to tell the blonde that he had said the exact same thing when he saw the monkey with the dark rings around its eyes. But before she could even utter a word, Haruno Sakura slammed her fist into Naruto's head, screaming, "You idiot! You said the same thing when you saw that monkey with the dark rings around its eyes. Stop wasting Hinata's time!"

Naruto, beaten to the ground on account of Sakura's super strength, grinned sheepishly. Rubbing his aching head, the blonde muttered, "Ano...gomen Hinata."

"That's a-all right, Naruto-kun. I d-didn't mind. In fact, I'd like to see the monkey t-that looks l-like Gaara-san." Hinata let out a small smile as she watched Naruto's crystalline blue eyes light up with excitement. Cheering in his usual loud voice, Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand to lead her to the raccoon dog exhibit...

...just as Inuzuka Kiba got a hold of Hinata's other hand.

The Hyuuga heiress grimaced as both her arms were tugged in two separate direction. The boys stopped what they were doing whn they noticed that Hinata was not trailing after them. When they saw each other holding Hinata's hands, they let out a series of growls.

"Kiba, what do you think you're doing? Hinata's coming to see the Gaara-look-a-like with _me_." Naruto commented sharply.

"Well, Hinata promised _me _that we'd go to the wolf exhibit." Kiba answered with a firm yank on Hinata's hand. The girl stumbled a bit near her teammate.

"Why should she look at wolves when she's always hanging out with you, dog boy?" Naruto's grip on Hinata's hand became almost possessive. Wincing, Hinata wished they'd let ho. She was not used to holding a boy's hand, much less two boys' hands, and it made her nervous to think that one of those hands was Naruto's. Well, she was holding Kiba's han, too, but who cared about an old teammate when their long time crush was holding their hand?

Kiba growled at the blonde, ready to strike him with a verbal insult when Sakura interrupted by hitting both boys on the head. She sighed when they cowered on the ground, holding their heads in agony. "You idiots! Don't you see that you were hurting Hinata?"

With guilt adorning their faces, Naruto and Kiba uttered their apologies to the Hyuuga heriess. Hinata forgave them immediately, although she berated them in her mind for not realizing she didn't like being in the middle of their fights.

Once Kiba and Naruto were off the floor and were done whining about the injuries Sakura had inflicted upon them, Hinata turned to Naruto and told him, "I-I'm sorry, N-Naruto-kun, but I did promise Kiba-kun earlier that I'd see the wolves with h-him." She flashed the blonde an apologetic smile as Kiba took her hand and led her to the wolf exhibit. She didn't even see the pout on Naruto's face when he watched the two walk away hand in hand.

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Half an hour later, Hinata was sitting next to Shino on a bench near the anteater exhibit. The rest of the group was standing near them, debating (more like arguing) about where to go next. The Hyuuga would have been with Kiba, but the boy had been thrown out of the zoo, since the zoo employees just wouldn't tolerate it when he tried to "rescue" the wolves from "imprisonment". And the employees had also not liked it when Kiba had shouted at them that they were monsters and that they should be ashamed of themselves for caging up precious canines that should be able to run around freely. One security guard had not been particularly pleased when Akamaru bit his ankle. 

So once Kiba was left to spend the rest of the day in the bus, Hinata was left to spend her time in the company of his other teammate. And it wasn't that Hinata was bothered by this. Shino was a good friend.He just didn't talk and at that moment, Hinata was desperate for conversation (it's never any fun to go to a zoo and not be able to have a friendly chat). That, and the Hyuuga heiress was getting tired of having to shoo away the bugs surrounding her.

"Hinata?" the female byakugan user looked up. The blonde form earlier was smiling down at her. She blushed under Naruto's intense gaze, and then ducked her head, trying not to let her crush see the deep crimson her cheeks and turned. "Hinata, you wanna go see the Gaara-look-a-like now?"

Hinata looked over at her companion to ask if he minded if she left with Naruto. But Shino seemed otherwise preoccupied with discretely helping an army of ants escape from the anteater exhibit. It turned out that the Aburame wasn't being discrete enough, seeing as in the next moment security guards were running towards him, and he was trying to gather as many ants in his jacket before he fled form the scene of the crime. Both Hinata and Naruto watched the event with dumbfounded expressions. Hinata, in particular, wondered why she had to have such strange, animal/bug-obsessed friends.

"N-Naruto-kun, I think it's best if we go see that raccoon dog n-now." Hinata suggested. The boy's dumbfounded look was replaced by his usual carefree grin and he grabbed Hinata's hand, leading her to the raccoon dog exhibit.

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Two hours later, Naruto and HInata were wandering around the zoo, looking for another exhibit to venture. They left the raccoon dog exhibit awhile before, with Naruto once again marveling over how the animal looked like his Kazekage friend (Hinata had to admit, it did look like Gaara, right down to the scowl it seemed to give Naruto). During their walk, Hinata couldn't help but note that Naruto's hand was still pleasantly wrapped around her own. The Hyuuga chose not to point this out to the boy, fearing that if she did, he would let go. And Hinata rather liked the warmth radiating from the callused fingers clasped around her own and the tingling sensation as their plams pressed together. So there was no way she'd do anything to mame him let go of her hand. 

_It...it feels like a date,_ Hinata let out a long mental sigh. Then, frowning, she though to herself, _With my luck, someone form the Hyuuga estate will see us and tell father. And it'll most likely be Neji-nii-san._

"Hinata?"

"Oh, uh, y-yes, Naruto-kun?" She stuttered. Her stuttering problem had gotten much better in Naruto's two and a half year absence. But ti always seemed to creep back up on her, especially if Naruto was around.

She took a step back, her fingers fidgeting together, an old habit, like her stuttering, she had stopped until Naruto returned to Konoha. She looked at the boy to find him staring back at her with a worried expression. Looking at the ground, her long dark hair fell over her face, hiding the redness of her cheeks.

"Are you not feeling well, Hinata?" Naruto asked, the concern obvious in his voice. He took a step towards her, placing a hand on her forehead. "Your face is flushed. Do you want to go back to the bus?"

Moving her head to the side, so as to stop him from touching her forehead (and to stop causing her blush to turn darker or cause her to faint), Hinata spotted another exhibit. She pointed at it and announced, "N-Naruto-kun, let's go look over there!"

Naruto glanced over at where she was pointing. Givin a small msile to Hinata, he grabbed onto the hand that she had pulled out of his grasp and they walked to the exhibit.

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"Naruto-kun, look at that one!" Hinata pointed to a small tan fox with big ears that was chasing after a barely visible fly. Hinata read the information on the fox. "It's called a Fennec fox. The desert dwelling fennec is one of the twelve species of vulpine foxes. It has the largest ears of any fox, in proportion to the size of its body, using its ears to cool itself and to detect the sounds of predator or prey." 

Naruto watched as the small fox jumped a bit to try and catch the fly. He let out a low chuckle at the fox's antics, and it was then that Hinata knew something was wrong. Naruto did not chuckle. Naruto laughed raucously, like an insane, hyperactive monkey. Hinata observed her crush and noticed that he was smiling a small, bitter smile as he watched the fennec fox. She noted that the hand holding hers had slipped out of the hold, and was now at his side, clenched tightly. But what could make the usually overly-hyperactive shinobi so...non-overly-hyperactive? The Hyuuga heiress looked back at the fox, then at her crush and suddenly everything clicked into place.

"G-Gomen, N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata clasped her hands together and looked at the blonde with a guilty face. Naruto looked back at her with a rather confused look on his face. "T-the fox...a-and the Kyuubi...Gomen nasai! I-I wasn't thinking of you when I said I wanted to see this exhibit!" She held her hands over her face and muttered, "I hope I didn't offened you, Na-Naruto-kun."

Naruto's face seemed to look even more somber at the mention of the nine-tailed fox. He tilted his head so he wouldn't have to look at his companion. His intense blue eyes were laden with what seemed like shame. "Don't worry about it, Hinata. Let's go look at other animals now."

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It had been half an hour. Naruto and HInata were walking in circles. How they managed to do that, Naruto just couldn't understand. He was following the directions on the map (Hinata had managed to pick one up after they visited the raccoon dog exhibit), and he had checked _thousands _of times to make sure the map wasn't upside down or sideways. But no matter what direction they went, it always led them back to that stupid fox.

Naruto had trouble looking at the fennec fox. It reminded him so much of the Kyuubi (except that is wasn't as big as a whale or had nine tails, but still, it was a _fox_). Being reminded of the demon fox inside him brought back the painful memories of his lonely childhood. Sure, he had a bunch of close friends now, but nobody could understand how hurtful it was to have the entire village hate you for something that was out of your control. And it hurt when he thought of the many people who _still  
_hated him, despite all th goods deeds he'd done for Konoha.

But HInata didn't hate him. She had never hated him. Sakura had hated him, and so had Ino, and maybe even Tenten, and so had every other girl that knew him. But Hinata hadn't.

"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata's soft voice pulled him away form his thoughts. How he adored that voice. It was calm, quiet, but there was a hidden strength in it. And that stutter! It was so cute! If she were any cuter, Naruto would gobble her up faster than a bowl of ramen at Ichiraku.

She poked her two petite fingers together, looking at him with a red haze staining her cheeks. Grinning at the Hyuuga heiress, Naruto asked, "What's up, Hinata?"

Hinata pushed her fingers closer togehter, her head bowed so she could examine the ground. In that quiet voice of hers, she announced, "I-I think it's cute! The f-fox, I m-mean!" She sneaked a glimpse at Naruto to see he was staring at her with a blank expression. Hinata took that as her cue to continue. "And not just the fennec fox. I-I t-think all foxes are c-cute. E-even the K-Kyuubi, and I've never seen it."

The blank look on the dobe's face was replaced with his trademark grin. Hinata gave him a small smile in return. Then, with a mischievous smirk, Naruto pointed to himself and asked, "What about me? Some people say I look like a fox. Does that mean I'm cute, too?"

His question made Hinata turn a brand new shade of red. Naruto only grinned at the Hyuuga heiress as she began stuttering intelligible words and her fingers pressed together at a more frantic pace. When his stare became too much for her, Hinata finally blurted out, "Y-yes!" She quickly rushed to put her hands over her mouth, not believing what she had just told Naruto. She closed her eyes tightly, afraid of Naruto's reaction.

"Thanks, Hinata." the girl opned her eyes. Naruto ad taken a couple of steps towards her, so now they were only inches apart. Naruto grinned at her, leaning forwards slightly. Surprising her, he pressed his lips against her cheek. He let them linger there just long enough for Hinata's face to turn 100 more shades of red. When he pulled his lips away, Hinata placed a hand on her cheek and stared wide-eyed at him. Naruto only smiled in return and turned around, looking for somewhere else to go.

The boy's eyes widened to the size of saucers as he spotted a small ramen shop hiding behind the elephant exhibit. Throwing his hands in the air in excitment, he cheered, "Hinata! Ramen! W ehave to eat there!...Hinata?" The dobe turned around to find the Hyuuga heiress on the ground.

She had fainted.

Laughing to himself, Naruto picked the unconscious girl up and turned to walk towards the ramen stand. As he was turning, he spotted the fennec fox staring at him from its enclosure. The two had a staring contest for a minute until Naruto grinned at the fox, mentally thanking it because it had led to Hinata admitting she thought Naruto was cute. And then that had led to the kiss on her cheek. And then that led to her fainting. And that led to Naruto kissing her lips at that moment as he held her in his arms.

Little did Naruto know that just as he kissed Hinata, she was waking up from her fainting spell. The Hyuuga heiress was surprised when she felt Naruto's warm lips on top of hers, but after a millisecond, she returned the kiss, startling the boy. He fell backwards onto his butt from surprise, with Hinata landing on his lap. Laughing sheepishly, he apologized. Hinata responded with a kiss. Wrapping his arms tighter around her, Naruto deepened the kiss, liking the way his and Hinata's lips fit perfectly together. He gave a small nibble to Hinata's lower lip, causing the girl to giggle and pull him closer to her.

The kiss ended when the two felt a dark presence near them. Looking up, they found Neji standing over them, Tenten laughing nervously as she waved hello to them. Both Naruto and Hinata cowered in fear as they saw the dark aura surrounding the other Hyuuga. The air around Neji seemed to spark with his anger and the dark look in his white eyes rivaled Uchiha Itachi's.

Naruto waved at the two newcomers nervously. "Hey, Neji, Tenten. W-where've you guys been?" He gave a nervous laugh but shut up immediately as Neji's gaze narrowed.

"Uzumaki."

"Y-yeah, Neji?" Naruto couldn't help but dread with what the byakugan user said next.

"Run while you can."

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HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! Yeah, I know this chapter is WAY overdue, but at least I finally finished it, right? I was hoping to have it up on Dec. 27, Hinata's b-day, but...yeah...that didn't happen.

Anyway, I got school off today! Snow days are wonderful, aren't they? Except, now I have to go to school on President's day because we used up all our snow days. Stupid snow. And now I have to type up my final copy of my english research paper. English bites...

Well, after this, there's the SasuSaku chapter, then one more chapter with every couple. Then this fic will be completed. I hope you all liked this chapter. I was really tentative about writing this because I'm not good at NaruHina (ShikaIno and NejiTen are what I specialize in). So if this chapter completely sucks...I'm sorry. I'm also sorry if anyone seems OOC. I've only written one other NaruHina (which you can look at on my profile and read and review it!).

Thanks to everyone that reviewed so far and everyone who has read it but haven't reviewed. I've got over 1600 hits for this story. Isn't that just awesome? I think it's awesome!

OMG! Naruto Shippuden comes out tomorrow! ONE MORE DAY! I CAN'T WAIT! I get to see Shikamaru all grown up (okay...I get to see him when he's 15, but whatever)!!!!!!! I CAN HARDLY WAIT! WHY CAN'T THURSDAY COME FASTER????????

Virtual Valentine's Day cookies for anyone who reviews!!!!!!!!! Come on people, don't you want these yummy virtual cookies?????

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**Summary for Chapter 4**: Black Rooster: Sasuke x Sakura

Sakura tries her hardest to enjoy Sasuke's grim, silent company, but to no avail. She decides to make a humorous comparison between him and a very unique black rooster, unaware of the rewarding consequences...


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